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Faces of Waukee: Mindi Heitland

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Where did you grow up? 

I grew up on a farm outside of Zearing and graduated from Colo-Nesco. After high school, I earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Coe College and a master’s degree from Drake University. 

Tell us about your family. 

My husband, Brent, is also a teacher and coach in the district. Our two elementary-aged sons have been raised in the bleachers and on the sidelines as Waukee Warrior fans. Outside of school, we enjoy attending our own boys’ sports and activities, time at the lake and traveling.

Tell us about what you do for the Waukee School District. 

As a school-to-work coordinator, I organize and coordinate internships for high school seniors in career fields they are interested in pursuing after graduation. I’m always working to establish partnerships with local businesses and organizations to provide meaningful and authentic internship experiences.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

The number of quality opportunities offered through Waukee Schools is tremendous. It’s very rewarding to watch students find what interests and excites them, and then see them build on those skills to use in the future. 

What are you most looking forward to in the 2019/2020 school year? 

So many exciting changes are happening at Waukee Community School District. I’m looking forward to helping develop great experiences to support both high schools and continued connections within the community.

Community Spotlight: Waukee Arts Festival

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For the fifth year in a row, the Waukee Area Arts Council is putting on the city’s largest and best-attended summer event. The Waukee Arts Festival will be held in Centennial Park on Friday, July 12 and Saturday, July 13.

Residents can look forward to more than 100 artist exhibits, kids’ activities, craft beer from Barn Town Brewery, food truck vendors and live music all day Saturday. As part of the Arts Council July concert series, there will be special evening performances during the festival featuring local artists The Brazilian 2wins and The Nadas.  

Cody Kilgore, President of the Waukee Area Arts Council, said the festival will feature an even wider variety of artists than previous years, including artists from around the Des Moines metro and across the country. 

“We had so many quality artists apply that we had to add spaces under a festival tent for more exhibition space,” he explained.  

Kilgore estimates nearly 4,000 people attended the festival last year, and said this year’s festival will offer something for everyone. 

“We’ll have art from across the country and along the price spectrum. There will be food and music you don’t often find in Waukee. The student art on exhibit from the Waukee schools is reason enough to attend— the students are incredibly talented,” said Kilgore. “Plus, there’s always a chance you might meet our mascot, Tucker.”  (Tucker is Kilgore’s five-year-old dog.)

Festival-goers can also expect more selection for various dietary needs this year as well.

“Our food vendors will have vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free fare,” explained Kilgore.  “And you have to check out the tables in the food court that the high school art classes created for us.” 

“In short, we’ve really upped our game this year,” he added.  “We’ll have more artists, more art, more music, more food and more time to enjoy it all.”

For more information on the Waukee Arts Festival, visit waukeearts.org.

Faces of Waukee: Kirk Johnson

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Where did you go to school?

I graduated from Tripoli High School (in Northeastern Iowa), earned my B.A. in Business Education at Northwestern College, and my Master’s of Education at the University of Nebraska. 

Tell us a little about your family.

Living and working in this great district gives me an ongoing sense of pride. My wife Nicole also works in the district and we are very thankful to be part of this great community! Our four kids all attend Waukee schools.

We enjoy time together as a family, including attending Lutheran Church of HOPE in West Des Moines and watching our kids grow up and participate in activities.

Going into this upcoming school year, you are taking on the new position of Chief Operations Officer for the Waukee School District. Tell us about your new position.

As Chief Operations Officer (COO), I will provide the leadership, management, and vision necessary to ensure the district has effective and efficient operational controls in place to effectively grow the organization.  In order to do so, I will work day-to-day with the Operations, Construction, Nutrition, Information Technology, and Community Education departments.

What are your goals in your new position?

My goals are to demonstrate effective leadership via collaboration and communication for the purpose of increasing student achievement and enhancing the learning and working environment for all Waukee Community School District students, staff and teachers.

The school district certainly has big changes coming in the next few years. What are you most excited about as the district continues to grow?

Given that our school district is comprised of four growing communities (Waukee, West Des Moines, Clive, and Urbandale), we will continue to see enrollment increases. With that will come opportunities to learn from and work with more great students, staff, and teachers.

Over the years, we have added elementary and middle-level school buildings. I’m excited to see our district have two high schools. Having two comprehensive high schools will give students more opportunities and access to find their passions.

Faces of Waukee: Kyle & Diana Nielsen

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Where did you grow up?

My wife Diana and I are both Iowa natives. She grew up in Ankeny and graduated from Saydel. I went to Johnston. 

Tell us about your business, Relics Awry, and how it came about.

In 2009, I built a bar stool as a shop chair. A family friend saw it and asked if I could make one for a charity auction. I gave her the one I had just made, and then built another one for her husband’s office. The stool went across the auction block for $1,700. We were amazed! 

The person who bought it asked me to build another stool and a pub table so they’d have a usable set. I had never made a pub table, but I was happy to give it a shot. This was when the creativity took off. After building that set, my mind went “awry” with ideas of how to turn useless unwanted items into functional art.

I started making lots of small pieces for Diana as gifts. As she displayed them in her salon, everyone wanted to know if I could make the same items for them. Orders started rolling in. From there, I was building for fun as I enjoyed it so much, and as I built more pieces, I needed a place to sell them. 

Diana suggested getting a booth at a show to sell my creations, so I did that back in 2011 at the Valley Junction farmers market. We couldn’t believe the response we got from the shoppers.

Eventually, I signed up for more shows across the country. The business grew pretty quickly as people had never seen furniture like mine and they were really drawn to it. These days, Relics Awry is my full-time job. 

This will be your first year as a vendor at the Waukee Arts Festival. What are you most excited about? 

We’re very excited to do a show here in Iowa since I spend so much time traveling. I love being part of a show with other local artists right here in our own backyard. 

Business Spotlight: B-Bop’s Waukee

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Des Moines fast food institution B-Bop’s has been delivering fast food with a retro flair to central Iowa residents for decades.  Now, Waukee residents will have a B-Bop’s location right in their backyard, as construction nears completion on the franchise’s newest location.

Construction began in the fall of 2018 on the 2,200-square-foot restaurant, which will be located at 855 East Hickman Road, near the Waukee Hy-Vee.  The location will offer seating for 60 inside, as well as eight tables on the patio and, of course, a drive-thru. The layout will be very similar to the B-Bop’s location on Stagecoach Drive in West Des Moines.  With the addition of the new store in Waukee, B-Bop’s will have a total of nine locations in Iowa, joining the existing stores on Fleur Drive, Southeast 14th, and East 14th in Des Moines, as well as their locations in West Des Moines, Altoona, Ankeny, Urbandale and Ames.

B-Bop’s is a much-loved fixture in the metro fast food landscape, but its owner got his start one state over.  B-Bop’s owner Bob Johnson embarked on his career in the fast food industry with the Mr. Quick franchise in Bollingbrook, Ill., in 1970.  He began as an assistant manager, a position he held for eight months. Impressed with Johnson’s ambition and skill, Mr. Quick’s corporate office offered him the opportunity to become a franchise partner in the business.  Johnson accepted this offer in 1973, moving to Newton, Iowa, and opening a Mr. Quick there. He later opened stores in Fairfield and Muscatine as well. In 1983, Johnson and his partners changed the restaurant name from Mr. Quick to Sizzlin’ Sam’s.

During the mid-1980s, as Johnson continued to open businesses, he took note of a new, burgeoning concept: the double drive-thru.  These were popping up throughout the Sun Belt states and encountering great success, and Johnson was interested in the possibility of opening one himself.  In 1988, Johnson found a building at 1500 East Euclid Avenue in Des Moines that he felt would be an ideal location for a double drive-thru. Within six months, the first B-Bop’s was opened on that spot, and the rest, as they say, is history.  (The original Euclid location has since been demolished—a new B-Bop’s was built around the corner on East 14th Street to replace it in 2016.)

It’s fair to say that B-Bop’s is known just as much for its atmosphere as for its food.  The old-school vibe inside each location, with the carefree music of an era gone by and the distinctive, colorful décor, take customers back to what many consider a golden, simpler time.  The beloved local chain, with its simple, tried-and-true menu, has won Cityview Magazine’s Best of Des Moines award in the Best Burger category for an astonishing 26 years in a row. B-Bop’s has also been a runner-up for Best French Fry in Cityview’s annual poll for the past five years, and its quarter- and half-pound burgers and fries also earned it the 2016 runner-up for Best Hangover Food.  

With the new store in Waukee set to open soon, residents will soon be able to satisfy their craving for a classic burger with a side of fries and a soundtrack that will take them right back to the olden days.  B-Bop’s represents just the latest exciting addition to the boom of new restaurants in Waukee!

Community Spotlight: Eric Kress

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Eric Kress, Executive Director of the Waukee YMCA and long-time community organizer and volunteer, has been named Waukee’s 2018 Citizen of the Year by Mayor Bill Peard.

Kress began working at the Waukee YMCA in 2002 as the Youth Program Director. Several years and positions later within the Y, he moved to Waukee in 2007 with his family. In 2019, he became the Executive Director.

Local photographer Terry Snyder, Executive Director of the Waukee Leadership Institute and 2014 Waukee Citizen of the Year, nominated Kress, whom she’s known for 15 years.

“Eric is a very easy-going person,” said Snyder. “He can get along with anyone. And he’s fun, even though he’s a Cubs fan,” she joked. (Snyder is a diehard Cardinals fan.)

“Eric is the type of person where if you need something, he’ll be there for you if he can,” she said. “He’s always there to volunteer and works well with others. He’s very involved in coaching his girls’ basketball and softball leagues and does Girls on the Run, a YMCA sponsored event, with his daughter.”

In addition to his community work through the YMCA, Kress served on the Waukee Area Chamber of Commerce Board for several years and currently sits on the Waukee Betterment Foundation Board. He’s given his time as a Sunday school teacher, volunteered as a youth sports coach, packed meals for Meals from the Heartland and helped with the Blank Children’s Hospital Festival of Trees and Lights.

Kress said the accomplishment of which he is most proud is watching the youth he’s worked with grow into young adults.

“I think of the families I’ve gotten to know, and it’s so rewarding to see those kids prospering as adults, contributing to our community or being successful elsewhere. You don’t always know the outcome when you work with youth—whether you made a difference or not,” he said. “When you know it pays off, or when they look back on their childhood and remember you, that feels awesome. It makes me proud to have had a part in that.” 

Kress and his wife, Danielle, a kindergarten teacher at Grant Ragan Elementary, have two daughters—Lilah, 10, and Jillian, 8. In their free time, they like to stay active. Kress said some of their favorites include watching baseball together (especially the Chicago Cubs), riding their bikes to get ice cream, and playing sports. 

His advice for others who feel called to make an impact in the community? Don’t wait to be asked. 

“Keep your eyes and ears open and take the initiative,” he said. “Recognize your skill sets, whatever they may be—from gardening to accounting skills for a non-profit. There are so many great organizations in our community. There’s a place for you.”

Kress was presented with a Key to the City during a public open house reception on Wednesday, April 24 at the Waukee Community Center. He will also be recognized as Citizen of the Year while riding in Waukee’s Fourth of July parade.

Faces of Waukee: Hassan Atarmal

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Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Morocco, in a very small town with limited opportunities and minimal access to modern conveniences. My parents worked hard to ensure my siblings and I could go to school and have better futures. During my first few years of college, I lived with my uncle who ran his own business. I worked there during my time off from school, and that’s where I was inspired to embrace entrepreneurship. 

In 1998, I came to the U.S. in search of better opportunities and landed in New York, where I managed a bagel shop for several years. In 2004, I met my wife, who happened to be from Iowa, and after a few years, we moved here so I could get a business degree from UNI. I worked for a few years as a home mortgage underwriter, which I enjoyed, but deep down I wanted to do something that brings people together. So, I went for something that did just that—fresh and tasty food. Hence, Fresh Mediterranean Express was born. 

When did you first realize you had a passion for food?

I grew up watching my mom cook and I remember helping her peel vegetables or adding spices to a dish and the outcome was always amazing. I’ve become even more passionate about cooking and experimenting with fresh ingredients as I’ve gotten older. I enjoy the creative aspect of what you can do with fresh ingredients to create a flavorful dish. 

How did you end up in Waukee?

When I was looking to open Fresh, my research showed that Waukee was on trend to grow exponentially, and there were very few healthy eating options here. So my wife and I decided Waukee would be a perfect fit for our concept and we opened Fresh Mediterranean Express in 2014. 

You make an effort to give back through various programs and charities. Tell us about that.

We are passionate about giving back. We support organizations that improve the well-being of children, including those with a focus on literacy.

What is the most popular item on your menu?

It’s hard to limit it to just one, but Gyros are a top seller, and ours are some of the best in town. Oh, and you can find our fresh hummus at Hy-Vee, too. That’s definitely a customer favorite!

Faces of Waukee: Brian & Peggy Willard

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Where did you both grow up?  

We both grew up on farms in Minnesota—Brian near Bemidji, and Peggy near Worthington. We moved to Iowa in 1994.

Tell us a little about your family.  

We have a son who works as a project engineer in Des Moines. Our daughter is a business owner/bookkeeper, is married and resides near Spearfish, SD. Our youngest daughter will graduate in May from college with a degree in Music Performance for violin.

The two of you run a family-owned business. Tell our readers about that.  

Owning our own business became a reality in September 2014.  For three years prior to our opening, Brian was doing repairs from our home garage in West Des Moines and working for Principal Financial Group’s aviation department.  Because of the number of people requesting his services, we researched and financially prepared to see if we could open a real repair shop. 

Peggy went from managing the family of five to being the Willard Garage owner/office manager.  Brian is the owner/technician. We aim to treat people the way we want to be treated. It’s been good to add more technicians and office assistants as we grow.  

What do you enjoy most about working in the Waukee community?  

Waukee is a great community of “Iowa nice” people. It has a small-town feel, but it’s growing!  Meeting locals and new residents is one part of our job that is so enjoyable. 

Summer travel season is fast approaching. Do you have any tips for folks gearing up to hit the road for summer travel?

Make sure your spare tire has adequate air in it. Also, every oil change at Willard Garage includes a good safety inspection to make sure you’re good to roll down the road. This includes checking all fluids, tires, battery, hoses/belts and brakes.

Featured Teacher: Kathy Liston

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School is out for the summer, but for teachers, the work never really ends.  While summer may be a time to dial back a bit, it’s also a time to reset, look back over the last school year and prepare for the next.  And next year, Waukee’s Brookview Elementary students can once again look forward to working with this issue’s Featured Teacher, instructional coach Kathy Liston.

Liston was exposed to teaching early, as her mother taught preschool.  “I loved watching her work with students, and the excitement she had when they learned how to do something new was contagious,” she explained.

When she first got to college, Liston took business classes, with the goal of becoming an accountant.  Outside of classes, she became involved working with students at a local church, providing mentorship and support with schoolwork.  According to Liston, that job showed her “the power a teacher can have in a student’s life.” She quickly switched her major to elementary and middle school education.

After earning her teaching degree, Liston taught for three years in the Des Moines Public School District before moving to the relatively new (at the time) Brookview Elementary in the Waukee School District.  She taught second grade for a year at Brookview before transitioning into her current role as an instructional coach, a role she has held for eleven years.

Liston’s role as an instructional coach is to provide support to teachers, support staff and students at Brookview.  “I typically say my job is to walk alongside teachers in whatever capacity they want,” she explained. This, not surprisingly, encompasses a wide range of duties and activities.  Working with new and veteran teachers alike, Liston provides professional development, co-teaches in all grade levels and supports with new curriculums and resources. She also strives to provide “a space for brainstorming and dreaming,” as well as being a sounding board for the staff and students.

Liston has a high regard for the Waukee School District, which she said is an innovative district that focuses on students first.  “Not only are we allowed to focus on developing the whole person in Waukee, but we also strive to provide the best academic environment,” said Liston.

The district’s work around developing leadership skills in all students and staff was instrumental in Brookview Elementary being named the first Lighthouse School in Iowa.  This distinction is awarded by The Leader in Me, an organization that engages students and empowers them to act on their leadership abilities and potential at school and at home.  Brookview was recognized in 2018, and Liston said she has seen firsthand the positive effects of this certification.

Liston enjoys not only the Waukee School District, but her role within it, and said the staff and students are what she enjoys most about her work.  “I could not do this job without the amazing teachers at Brookview, who continue to challenge me in my own understanding of best practices in education.  Every teacher at Brookview and across the Waukee district wants to continue to grow and learn, which makes my job easy,” she explained.

Liston said she also loves working with the students and that her position allows her the opportunity to watch them not only learn, but become leaders in and out of the classroom.

The connections she forms with students don’t end with them leaving Brookview, either.  “I have been fortunate to develop lasting relationships with many students and families throughout my years at Brookview,” she said.

Liston was nominated for this spotlight by her peer, Brooke Folkers, who had high praise for her.  “Kathy does an outstanding job,” said Brooke. “She supports all staff and meets with students regularly.  She is incredibly kind and she’s passionate about her job. Everyone who knows her would say she adds great value to Brookview Elementary.”

Let’s Talk About Solar Energy

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In recent years, energy conservation and efficiency has become more and more of an emphasis for property owners—not just for business owners, but for eco-conscious residents looking to save money and reduce their carbon footprint. Until recently, however, greener energy options weren’t always accessible or economical for the average homeowner. An upcoming Waukee program is aiming to change that.

The Solarize Waukee Initiative, which began in April, is a collaborative effort by the City of Waukee, The Nature Conservancy in Iowa, the Waukee Aspiring Professional Experience (APEX) and the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA). Solarize Waukee is a group purchase program that will allow residential and commercial property owners to invest in rooftop solar installations for their homes and businesses, with potential savings on installation costs. The program will be available to individuals and businesses located within the boundaries of the Waukee School District, meaning that residents of Clive, Urbandale, and West Des Moines are eligible to participate as well. The program is administered by MREA at no cost to the community.

How It Began

Solarize Waukee is the latest in a growing number of group purchasing programs for residential and commercial solar. Towns and jurisdictions such as Milwaukee and the Champaign-Urbana metro area in Illinois have seen success with the group buy model. According to Patrick Snell, External Affairs Coordinator for The Nature Conservancy, the first such program in Iowa took place in Cedar Rapids and Linn County in the fall of 2017. A “huge success,” according to Snell, that program saw 105 participants install 611 kilowatts (kW)—$1.5 million worth—of solar power.

The key to the success of a group purchasing program, of course, is the competitive pricing available through such an initiative. Like a buyers’ club or a co-op, the more participants in the group, the lower the costs for everyone involved. In addition, the price has the potential to come down even more if or when certain benchmarks are met. Once the program participants collectively reach 50 kW of power purchased, everyone receives an additional reduction on the price of their own. According to Snell, an average residential solar installation comes in at roughly 5.1 kW; therefore, it would take roughly ten homes to reach 50 kW. An additional price reduction occurs at 100 kW, 200 kW, and 300 kW.

One important difference between previous programs and the Solarize Waukee Initiative is that previous programs were able to focus on expanding the market for solar power in communities where such a market already existed. Solarize Waukee, by contrast, is seeking to create and build the market for solar power, according to Snell. There are relatively few buildings in Waukee that currently have solar installed. The Nature Conservancy approached the City of Waukee regarding the initiative, hoping that recent solar installations by prominent businesses, such as Peoples Bank and the recently-opened Palm Theatres & IMAX, would spur interest from other businesses and residents, as well.

Businesses Are Reaping the Benefits of Solar

Peoples Bank, in fact, has solar power at not just one, but eight of their bank locations: Adel, Clive, Grand Junction, Guthrie Center, Jefferson, Ogden, Rippey and Waukee. They have also installed solar car chargers at their Clive, Waukee, and Adel locations for those with electric cars.

“We converted our power source from traditional electricity to solar power out of a sense for our environment and good stewardship of our resources,” said John Rigler III, President and Chief Operating Officer at Peoples Bank. He added that the business has substantially reduced its energy bills since converting to solar power.

The brand-new Fridley Theatres location in Waukee has reaped similar benefits from installing solar power. According to Fridley Theatres’ Vice President, Russell Vannorsdel, the company had been “looking into solar options for a number of years.” The falling costs of equipment, as well as federal and state incentives, finally enabled the installation of solar power at the new Waukee location.

Most of the theater’s 66,000-square-foot roof is covered with solar panels. An additional solar structure was built to the south of the theater “for more production, but also for visibility,” said Vannorsdel. “We wanted the community to see our investment in renewable resources.”

The theater, like Peoples Bank, is already seeing good returns on their energy expenditure. In fact, says Vannorsdel, “on a sunny day, there are hours of over-production.”

How to Learn More

Interested in finding out whether you’d be a good candidate for solar power? Start by attending a Solar Power Hour, a dozen of which are scheduled between the beginning of April and the end of June. These free educational sessions are open to the public and designed to provide attendees with information on the basics of solar power, ways to tell if their site is suitable for solar and the potential financial ramifications for their properties.

Representatives from MREA will be on hand at each session to answer questions, and students who are participating in APEX will have the opportunity to help with promotion and deliver some of the presentations.

Residents and business owners will then be able to sign up to receive a free, no-obligation site assessment from 1 Source Solar, a solar energy contractor based in Ankeny that was selected as the installer for the initiative through a competitive request for proposals earlier this year. 1 Source Solar was also the installer for Peoples Bank, and “did a magnificent job,” according to Rigler.

Snell says that as “an education program that’s bringing people together,” the Solarize Waukee Initiative aims to demystify the financial and logistical challenges of installing solar power for homeowners and businesses and give them the information they need to “make an informed decision” about what’s right for their properties.  Interested area residents and business owners can visit solarizewaukee.com to fill out a sign-up form and elect to receive their free estimate, program updates and Solar Power Hour announcements.

The deadline to sign up to participate in Solarize Waukee is July 31, 2019.

If you’ve been interested in greener alternatives to electricity, but figured that solar wasn’t practical or realistic, swing by a Power Hour—you may be surprised!

Solar Power Hour Schedule

  • Saturday, 6/15/2019, 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., Waukee Library
  • Wednesday, 6/19/2019, 6:30  p.m. – 7:30 p.m., Waukee Innovation and Learning Center
  • Wednesday, 6/26/2019, 6:30  p.m. – 7:30 p.m., Waukee City Hall
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